Google has found a new territory it wants to disrupt – internet television, but it is starting small.
On Wednesday, 5 March it launched YouTube TV, a $35 monthly subscription service that is starting in five select markets in the US for now.
The live internet TV service was first announced in February 2017 by YouTube. YouTube TV represents a radical shift in YouTube’s business as an ad supported platform for user-generated video to a full-fledged provider of traditional programming. The five markets it is rolling out in include New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia.
The service offers live television programming from more than 50 channels including NBC, FOX, CBS, ESPN, Disney, CW and SyFy. YouTube has also made a deal with AMC Networks to add more channels. Showtime and Fox Soccer Plus are provided at additional cost.
“This is such a new marketplace. Our goal from the beginning was to really listen to our users and understand from them what they loved about TV and what they want changed. What we recognised is that it was really distribution that was a struggle for them. They wanted the experience that they were used to from YouTube, Spotify and Netflix so that they could watch programming anywhere they wanted, whenever they wanted, wherever they wanted, on any device,” said Kelly Merryman, vice president, content partnerships at YouTube.
The company also carried out research to determined what channels to bring to its platform – the ‘skinny bundle’ according to YouTube, it found that its target subscribers preferred live sports and primetime shows. It then started approaching major broadcasters including AMC whose audience are largely millennial viewers.
Merryman explained “We are not trying to replicate other offerings in the marketplace. We are letting users drive this for us. We tried to identify the right set of programming from day one – and I think we’ve got it.”
YouTube has over a billion users. To reach just a fraction of that market amounts to a potential boon for marketers. Another advantage it enjoys is that the app is pre-installed on almost every device including newer TV models.
A feature users are bound to enjoy is the unlimited DVR that allows as much recording of a show or channel as desired. With one click, a subscriber gets to save recordings to a cloud DVR, which can be accessed through the Library portion of the app. So far other streaming services have not been able to crack this function seamlessly.
The YouTube TV’s success in the five markets will determine how and when it will be available for other markets outside the US.
FRANK ELEANYA
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